Becket

At the head is Christ the Pantocrator On a field of gold tiles On the second rank stand the Apostles who gaze without smiles Saint James gives the A okay, Peter With his wooly hair Then the archangel Michael next to Mother Mary, she's got the only Chair On the third tier, with the pontiffs And the patriarchs Is the low born English cleric who Only played a bit part Well he got himself whacked by King Henry and it caused an Almighty ruckus with the Holy See You see there'd been a lot of Wrangling about state and canon Law and Thomas Becket just couldn't Let it be So after that went down his buddy Alexander stepped in and Threatened a papal interdict And that was around the time work Began on the foundations of Monreale Cathedral crypt Henry's friend Roger the Sicilian Greased some palms to stop him Getting excommunicated And public atonement did the trick And Rome's displeasure abated As we stand under the stars, the Midnight sky and the golden beams Look up, look up, look up at the Heavenly Court Flanked by the archangels Raphael And Uriel Above two Seraphim each with six Wings Two to cover the face in reverence To the divine grace Two to cover the feet in adoration Of you and me And two more wings each with Which to beat a hasty retreat Around the wings are eyes, around The wings are eyes Around the wings are eyes, kept Fixed on the prize And next to them the cherubim, not Like children No they ain't little children but like Bugs with wings pointing down and They fly around And is the vessel that sits on the Throne The jar of vinegar Offered to a man dying of thirst Or is it the grail? Is it the grail What is the grail Under the stars, the midnight sky And the golden beams And the wings of angels and the Wings of angels, only angels have Wings And the wings of angels and the Wings of angels, only angels have Wings